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Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:2-3; 2:27; 3:9; 5:4, 18
With this message we begin the Life-study of the Epistles of John. We trust in the Lord to open up the Scriptures to us again and speak a fresh word to us all.
This message is an introductory word concerning the writings of John. John’s writings include his Gospel, his three Epistles, and his Revelation. These writings occupy a particular and striking place in the full revelation of God in the Bible. In his Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation John writes of things that are mysterious. These things are mysterious because they are divine. Therefore, we need to see that John’s writings are altogether a revelation of divine things. Here I would emphasize two words: revelation and divine.
The entire Bible, of course, is the holy revelation of God. The Bible was not written according to man’s mind or according to human thought. Rather, the whole Bible is the divine revelation written in human language. Nevertheless, it is important for us to realize that this is especially true of John’s writings, writings that are concerned with divine things.
Because John writes about divine things, it is necessary that these things be revealed to us. It is not possible for the natural human mentality to guess or infer what John’s writings unveil to us. Whatever is revealed in the writings of John is far beyond our human comprehension. Hence, there is no room here for guessing or inference. Our mentality cannot grasp, lay hold of, the divine things revealed in John’s writings. The Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John, and the book of Revelation reveal matters that are beyond our ability to imagine. We cannot even conceive of these things, much less make inferences regarding them. Because John’s writings are of what is divine, we cannot with our natural mentality imagine what they contain. Only through divine revelation can the divine things in John’s writings be revealed to us.
As we read the writings of John, it is not adequate merely to exercise our mentality. We need much prayer. We also need to believe that today the divine Spirit is within us, in our spirit. We should trust in this indwelling Spirit to give us the revelation of the things contained in John’s writings, and also the wisdom to grasp, lay hold of, the things we see in our spirit as a result of this revelation. Like the apostle Paul, we need to pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). It is not sufficient simply to read John’s writings or meditate on them. Neither is it sufficient only to exercise our natural understanding. When we come to the writings of John, we should not trust in our reading, meditating, or understanding. On the contrary, we should pray, “Lord, I depend on You to grant me a revelation of what is contained in these writings. Lord, I do not trust my natural ability to understand Your word.”
The entire book of Revelation is a revelation. This is why it opens with the words, “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him” (Rev. 1:1). The word “revelation” denotes the opening of a veil. Revelation is a matter of opening a veil to show us something mysterious hidden behind the veil. We all need such an unveiling. Many marvelous divine things have been concealed, but we may experience an unveiling and have these things revealed to us.
Along with revelation, we also need understanding. We may see certain things, but we may not understand what we see. For example, suppose you visit a large factory and look at various kinds of machines. You see the machines, but you may not understand anything about them. Although the machines have been revealed to you, you still need understanding. The principle is the same with divine things. In addition to revelation, we also need wisdom for understanding. For this reason, Paul prayed for a spirit of wisdom and revelation.
The thought in John’s writings is absolutely divine. These writings do not contain ethical teachings or philosophical concepts. On the contrary, these writings are filled with divine matters. The word “divine” denotes something that concerns God or that belongs to God. The things concerning God and belonging to God Himself are divine, and anything divine is mysterious. We are not able to grasp, to lay hold of, these mysterious things. God is real and infinite. How can we, mere human beings, comprehend Him? This is impossible. We do not have the capacity to comprehend God. But we thank Him that He created us with a spirit, and in His salvation He has regenerated our deadened spirit and has imparted His divine life into our spirit. He has even given us Himself as the life-giving Spirit to dwell within our spirit. Only in our regenerated spirit are we qualified to see a revelation of the mysterious things in the writings of John. Our human mentality is not qualified for this. There is no possibility of seeing such things with our natural mind. Thank the Lord that we have a regenerated spirit, even a mingled spirit, our regenerated spirit mingled with the divine Spirit. Therefore, we should turn to this mingled spirit and pray, “Lord, we trust in Your unveiling and in Your wisdom. We believe, Lord, that You want to show us something in John’s writings. Lord, as You opened the veil to the apostle John, open it again to us. Lord, we need the reopening of the veil. Have mercy on us, and unveil the mysteries again. Grant us the wisdom to understand and lay hold of what You want to show us in the Epistles of John.”
We have pointed out that the word divine denotes things that concern God and belong to God. Actually, this word denotes God Himself. Hence, to say that the writings of John reveal divine things means that they reveal God Himself. As we come to the Epistles of John, it is not our goal merely to learn things about God. We come to these Epistles in order to see the things of God. We want to grasp, receive, and even digest the things of God. How great this is! Be impressed that it is not our aim in these messages to have a Bible study. We are not endeavoring to learn something related to religion or to study matters that will help us to improve our behavior or uplift the standard of our living. In these messages on the Epistles of John our purpose is to see God, grasp God, receive God, and digest God. When some hear about digesting God, they may be bothered and ask how it is possible for God to be digested by us. I can testify that I am very happy with this expression “digest God.” Daily I receive God and digest Him. If I did not digest God, I would not be able to bear the heavy burden that is upon me. Praise Him that through digesting Him I can bear a heavy burden! Through the digesting of the infinite God, I am what I am, and you are what you are. The revelation of the divine things in John’s writings is given so that we may receive God and digest Him.
The revelation of the divine things in the writings of John is supplementary to the revelations of the other holy writings. This indicates that if the writings of John were not in the Bible, something important would be lacking. For example, the Gospel of John is a supplement to the synoptic Gospels, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Without the Gospel of John, we could realize only that the Lord Jesus was a man who served God as a slave, as revealed in Mark, that He died on the cross to be our Savior, as revealed in Luke, and that He is the King, as revealed in Matthew. With the Lord as a slave, as the Savior and Redeemer, and as the King, we see His humanity. However, the Lord was God before He became a man. This means that in His Person He is of two aspects, a divine aspect and a human aspect. We may say that He has a twofold Person, for He is the God-man, God incarnate. He is God and also man. He is the real and complete God, and He is also a true and perfect man.
If we had only the first three Gospels, the synoptic Gospels, we would see only the aspect of the Lord’s humanity, but not much of the aspect of His divinity. By this we realize the need for a supplement to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel of John serves this purpose. This Gospel reveals that the man Jesus, the One who served God as a slave, who died on the cross to be our Redeemer, and who is the King of God’s people, this One is the very God Himself. Because He is God, with Him there is no beginning and no genealogy. He is the eternal, infinite God.
The Gospel of John opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The words “in the beginning” denote eternity past. In the beginning, in eternity past, was the Word. If John had not written this in his Gospel, we would never have imagined that our Savior was the eternal Word. What a marvelous revelation this is! Even with this revelation before us, we still may not be able to understand the true significance of the Word. Can you explain what the Word is? Do you know any books of ethics or philosophy that have such an expression as “in the beginning was the Word”? John says not only that the Word was in the beginning, but also that the Word was with God and that the Word was God. Then he goes on to say, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (v. 4). We know from John 1:14 that this One, who was the Word in the beginning, became flesh and tabernacled among us. In John 1:1, 4, and 14 we have Word, God, life, light, and flesh. The wonderful Word, who is God, became flesh. We may not regard the word flesh in a positive way, but the Bible declares that the Word became flesh. This is part of the revelation conveyed in John’s writings.
In John 1:14 we are told that the Word who became flesh tabernacled among us. I appreciate the word “tabernacled.” When the Word became flesh, He became the tabernacle of God. We know from the book of Exodus that the tabernacle in the Old Testament, a type of Christ, was a mutual dwelling place for both God and man. God dwells in the tabernacle, and we can enter this tabernacle to be God’s “roommate.” I can testify that my roommate is the very God who dwells in His tabernacle. My real dwelling place is not my house; it is the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. This means that where God dwells, I dwell also. How marvelous that the very Word who was with God in the beginning became incarnate to tabernacle among us!
John 1:14 says that the Word that became flesh and tabernacled among us was full of grace and reality, and also that the disciples beheld His glory. When we put verse 14 together with verses 1 and 4, we have the Word, God, life, light, flesh, tabernacle, grace, reality (truth), and glory. Then in John 1:29 we have the Lamb: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Are you able to understand all these mysterious things? How can the Word be God, and how can the life in the Word be the light of men? How can the wonderful God Himself become flesh, and how can the incarnated God, God in the flesh, be the tabernacle? How can this tabernacle be full of grace and reality? Furthermore, how can such an incarnated One also be the Lamb of God? Who would ever imagine that in human history there could be a writing containing such matters? This writing, the Gospel of John, tells us of One who is the eternal Word and the very God, and tells us that in this Word there is life, that this life is the light of men, that He became flesh, that in the flesh He was the tabernacle, that when we come to this tabernacle we receive grace and truth and enjoy His glory, and that such a wonderful One also became a Lamb. A writing such as this is not merely human, and it is not something religious, moral, ethical, or philosophical. This is a writing containing a revelation that is altogether divine.
Many readers of the New Testament love the Gospel of Luke because it has many parables and presents the cases of sinners who are saved. However, we may love Luke because our view is limited, like that of a frog in a well. A frog in a well can see only a small circle of sky. But in the five books written by John the entire heaven is unveiled to us. When we see the revelation in the writings of John, we are lifted out of our “well.”
John’s writings not only lift us out of the well, but bring us to the heavens. In Revelation John could declare that he saw a door opened in heaven and that he beheld a throne set in heaven and One sitting upon the throne (Rev. 4:1-2). Eventually, John saw the new heaven, the new earth, and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-2). In a very real sense, the book of Revelation actually is not a book of prophecies; it is a book of revelation. In this book we are rescued from our low state and lifted up to the heavens. I hope that these messages will help you to be uplifted in this way. Then you will be able to testify, “No longer am I in a well with a narrow, limited view. Now I am in the heavens with a clear view of God’s revelation.” The purpose of John’s writings is to uplift us and show us a revelation of mysterious, divine things.
As the Gospel of John supplements the synoptic Gospels, so the Epistles of John supplement the other New Testament Epistles. I have studied the writings of Paul and Peter, and I appreciate them very much. I have also studied the Epistles of James and Jude. I can testify that if we did not have the Epistles of John, we would sense a great loss. The Epistles of John are an important supplement to all the other Epistles.
Furthermore, the book of Revelation is a supplement to the entire Bible. Imagine what the Bible would be like if it did not include the book of Revelation. If such were the case, the Bible would be lacking a conclusion. What a great loss that would be!
John’s writings are not only supplementary, but also complementary to the entire divine revelation. This means that the writings of John complete the Bible. His Gospel completes the Gospels, his Epistles complete the Epistles, and his Revelation completes the whole Bible. If we realize the importance of the writings of John, we shall surely thank the Lord for them. Praise the Lord for John’s Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation!
In the Epistle of 1 John there are certain verses that I especially like. First John 1:2 and 3 say, “And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That which we have seen and heard, we report also to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed the fellowship which is ours is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” In these verses, John says that the apostles report eternal life to us so that we may have fellowship with them. In what other writing can you find such a word? In the Epistle of 1 John we have the reporting of eternal life for the purpose of fellowship. This means that eternal life produces fellowship. When this life is reported, the result is the fellowship of the divine life. Therefore, in 1:2 and 3 we have the divine life with its divine fellowship.
First John 2:27 says, “And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” In this verse John says that the Lord’s anointing teaches us concerning all things, and as it has taught us, we should abide in Him. The teaching of the anointing is altogether different from the knowledge of man’s great teachers, including what is called the highest learning of Confucius. May we all have a full realization of the fact that the divine anointing within us is teaching us all the time and that we need simply to abide in the Lord according to the anointing.
Another marvelous verse is 3:9: “Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God.” In this verse, John speaks of those who have been “begotten of God.” John’s writings emphasize the divine birth, our regeneration. It is a great wonder that human beings can be begotten of God, regenerated of Him. As believers in Christ, we have not only been begotten of our father — we have been begotten of God. Whoever is begotten of a human being automatically becomes a human being. In the same principle, whatever is begotten of a dog is a dog. The point here is that a certain kind of life will always beget that kind of life. I would not say that because we have been begotten of God, we are God. However, according to the Scriptures, we can say that because we have been begotten of God, we are children of God with the divine life and nature. God is our Father, and we are His children possessing His life and nature. Just as we have been begotten of our parents to have the human life and nature, so we have been begotten of God to have the divine life and nature.
According to 3:9, everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him. To practice sin is to live in sin habitually. Because we have been begotten of God, we do not practice sin. For example, a cat practices mouse-catching because it has such a life. However, a dog, having a different kind of life, does not have that practice. Anyone who practices sin is not a child of God. No one who is a child of God habitually lives in sin.
The reason someone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin is that God’s seed abides in him. The seed in this verse is God’s life, which we received when we were begotten of Him. This divine seed abides in every regenerated believer. How marvelous that God’s seed abides in us! What a tremendous revelation this is! I cannot say how far this revelation goes beyond the teachings of Confucius concerning the highest learning. Because we have been begotten of God, His seed abides in us. Do you not have the sense that there is something living and organic moving and growing within you? Sometimes we can sense the activity of this seed, and at other times we can sense that it is blossoming.
In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 we see that the Lord Jesus came as a sower to sow Himself as the divine seed into the human heart. Our heart is the soil where the divine seed grows. This seed is nothing less than God Himself. A wheat seed is wheat, and a carnation seed is a carnation. In the same principle, God’s seed is God Himself. Through regeneration God has become an organic life seed growing within us. Eventually, this seed will blossom and bear fruit. Because this seed is divine, it does not practice sin.
First John 5:4 says, “Because everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world,” and 5:18 says, “We know that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin, but he who is begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him.” When we put these verses together, we see that everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world and that the evil one does not touch him. Later we shall see why 5:4 speaks of everything and 5:18 speaks of everyone. At present it is sufficient to see that everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world and the evil one does not touch him.
Christians often complain about how strong the Devil is. But in John’s writings there is a word telling us that we have been begotten of God and that the Devil does not touch us. The Devil knows that his efforts will be in vain if he touches one who has been begotten of God and who is keeping himself.
All these verses from 1 John are unique. We cannot find such verses in the writings of Paul or Peter. I would encourage you to spend some time to pray over these verses. I believe that if you pray over them, you will see something divine. I can testify that I have seen that eternal life has been reported to me, that I have a divine fellowship, that the divine anointing is within me, that I have been begotten of God, that I have the divine seed, and that I may be a person not touched by Satan. May we all see the marvelous revelation contained in these verses and be able to testify boldly concerning them.
